BC Philatelic Society Newsletter
Bringing stamp and postal-history collectors together since 1919
The BC Philatelic Society — Always on-line at www.bcphilatelic.org
Vol. 63, No. 7 | September 2013
Stamp war for the Falkland Islands and the first Christmas stamp (Part 2 of 2) — by Virgil Soh
First Christmas stamp. Picture engraved by Charles Skinner
Designed by Warren L. Green. Based on map by George Parkin
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bcstamps.co.uk | stampboards.com | mapstamp.org
en.mercopress.com | The Guinness Book of Stamps Facts & Feats by James Mackay
First essay of the Map Stamp
O
ur previous issue discussed the “postage stamp war” between Great Britain
and Argentina. Britain issued its 1933
centenary stamp showing sovereignty over the
Falklands; Argentina retaliated in 1936 with a
stamp delineating their claim. However, little did
Argentina know Britain’s claim was first made 38
years earlier, by Canada, with what is arguably
the first Christmas stamp.
In 1898, Britain introduced a one-penny postal
rate (equivalent to two cents Canadian) both at
home and abroad, for letters transmitted throughout most of the British Empire. To commemorate this event, Canada's Postmaster General, Sir
William Mulock, introduced a new stamp which
pictured a world map with the British Empire, including the Falklands, in carmine.
In planning for the new stamp, Sir Mulock had
decided that it should show a Mercator projection, which increases the relative size of land
masses the closer they are to the poles. More to
the point, perhaps, a Mercator projection of the
world is rectangular and easily incorporated into
a stamp.
Sir Mulock consulted George R. Parkin who,
with J.G. Bartholomew and Son, published in
1893 The British Empire Map of the World on
Mercator's Projection. Parkin’s proposal of “a
miniature reproduction of his map of the British
Empire with Canada in the centre” was accepted.
Two printings of this stamp exist: half of the
printing of almost 20 million was printed with
blue oceans and half with lavender oceans. The
frame, value tablets, and inscriptions are in black.
At that time Britain held the largest empire on
earth, which explains the inscription at the bottom of the stamp, “WE HOLD A VASTER EMPIRE THAN HAS BEEN”. Wags called it the
“Has Been” stamp.
Parts of German South West Africa, German
East Africa, the Republics of Transvaal and the
Orange Free State, Portuguese East Africa and
the island of Borneo plus some other countries
(or at least parts of them) were also by accident
included in the British Empire, which made the
empire vaster than reality. Over-inking of the carmine portions of some printings of the stamp also
seemed to greatly expand the Empire.
But one question remains: Why is it also called
the world’s first Christmas stamp? One explanation was that the stamp was scheduled for release
on the Christmas Day. It was actually issued Dec.
7, 1898. To coincide with the effective date of
the postal rate implementation, it was inscribed
"Xmas 1898.”
BC Philatelic Society Newsletter | Vol. 63, No. 7 | September 2013
this issue

Stamp war for the Falkland Islands
and the first Christmas stamp

Researchers find simpler way
to detect fake stamps

New copy of rarest Canadian stamp
— worth up to $1M, found in U.S.
And more...
An often-repeated story suggests that when a
post office official presented the new Canadian
stamp to Queen Victoria, he suggested that it
could serve as a tribute to the prince. The official
was referring to the then Prince of Wales (three
years later King Edward VII) whose birthday was
Nov. 9, the date originally selected for the release
of the issue. Queen Victoria is said to have replied, “Which prince?” in a tone that made clear
she would not be pleased with a royal connection other than herself. The official replied “the
Prince of Peace,” referring to the Christ child.
So, is Canada’s Map Stamp the first Christmas
stamp? That seems to have been a matter of Royal perogative!
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Researchers find simpler
way to detect fake stamps
— by Phil Taylor, securingindustry.com
A
team of scientists in Italy have developed a new and simpler technique for
detecting counterfeit postage stamps.
The researchers - led by Ludovico Valli of Universita del Salento - decided instead to use a
technique known as Fourier transform infrared
(FT-IR) spectroscopy to create a spectral database of 150 years of stamps issued since the unification of Italy.
British columbia
philatelic society’s
The database allowed the researchers to look at
the constituents of stamps - including the adhesive used to attach them to envelopes, the paper
composition and make-up of inks - and chart the
changes in stamp production over the decades.
12 Dealer Tables • Coffee and Tea • Free Admission • Free Parking • 30+ Frames
of Exhibits • Most Popular Exhibit • 50/50 Draws • Special Show Covers
With the database in hand the team were also
able to identify counterfeits of two very rare
stamps, including the 1961 Gronchi Rosa (pictured), which was determined to be a forgery
because the ink used in its manufacture did not
use kaolin, and a re-gummed 2 cent red stamp
issued in 1865.
The work is published in the journal Analytical
Chemistry.
Earlier this year, Luxembourg-based Fédération
Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) said that the
Canada Post may be losing as much as C$10m a
year from the activity.
Two-day Regional Stamp Show in honour of the 75th anniversary of the final
victory of the schooner "Bluenose" in the Fisherman's Trophy Race of 1938
Friday, Sept 20, 10am-6pm / Saturday, Sept 21, 10am-4pm
West Burnaby United Church, 6050 Sussex Ave
(1 block north of Metrotown Centre)
VANPEX 2013
Current means of identifying fakes generally
rely on taking a tiny sample for laboratory analysis - which in the case of very rare items could
have an impact on value if the sample is subsequently found to be genuine.
New copy of rarest Canadian stamp — worth up to $1M
— found in U.S. — by Randy Boswell, canada.com
F
or nearly 80 years,
there have been only
two known examples
of Canada’s rarest stamp: the
two-cent, 1868 “Large Queen”
on laid paper, a postal treasure
so scarce it’s absent from the
Canadian government’s own
collection — and estimated to
be worth as much as $1 million.
ing a serious stir among postage specialists across North
America and shedding new
light on how a production
anomaly 145 years ago — followed by the apparent distribution of this one-of-a-kind
sheet of stamps from a Hamilton postal station in 1870 —
produced this country’s greatest philatelic rarity.
Now, an unidentified American stamp hobbyist has revealed his discovery of a third
copy of every Canadian collector’s wildest dream, creat-
The idea that a new “LargeQueen-on-laid” had been
found was so startling to the
Canadian
stamp-collecting
community it prompted a To-
BC PHILATELIC:
Friends of BC Philatelic Society:
• This summer, for the first time, our club had regular
summer meetings. We had a good turnout for every
meeting; 30 members and a guest attended our Aug.
31 auction, where sales totalled more than $300.
• Philatelic Daffyinitions by BC Phil President Bob
Ingraham: Hinge (daffynition 2) — A tiny piece of
gummed glassine paper that may be worth half the
catalogue value of a mint stamp, or more! Issue — (1)
A topic of debate. Example: “Why are you making
such an issue out of this itty bitty stamp? We’ll pay for
it somehow!”
The BCPS enjoys the support of the following stamp dealers:
BC Philatelic Society Newsletter | Vol. 63, No. 7 | September 2013
• ALL NATIONS STAMP & COIN
5630 Dunbar St, Vancouver, B.C.
604-684-4613 / [email protected]
www.allnationsstampandcoin.com
• F.v.H. STAMPS
102-340 Cordova Street West, Vancouver, BC V6B 1E8
604-684-8408 / Toll Free: 1-866-684-8408
[email protected] / www.fvhstamps.com
• WEEDA STAMPS
P.O. Box 31054, RPO University Heights, Victoria,
BC V8N 6J1
250-385-1826 / 1-888-685-1826 / [email protected]
www.weeda.com
ronto-based postal history research organization to conduct
an exhaustive probe of the
claim before issuing a 10-page
report last month verifying the
artifact’s authenticity.
Newly discovered stamp, a ‘Large Queen
on laid paper’ bought for two cents in
1868 and then for about $5 this year by
a U.S. collector could be worth $1M.
The B.C. Philatelic Society Newsletter is distributed
free to all members of the Society. Download
current and previous editions from our web site.
President: Bob Ingraham
[email protected] | 604-694-0014
Vice President: Geoff Carter
Treasurer: Derren Carman
Secretary: Martine Mercier
[email protected] | 778-773-0907
Newsletter Producers: Virgil Soh, BBA, REALTOR®
[email protected] | 604-710-0252 & Bob Ingraham
[email protected] | 604-694-0014
Webmaster: Bob Ingraham
[email protected] | 604-694-0014
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